The Eric R. Neisser Public Interest Program is the umbrella organization for all public interest-related activities at the law school. The program was created to honor the life and work of the late Eric R. Neisser, the one-time acting dean, long-time law professor, and committed social activist who was a beacon of public interest activities at Rutgers-Newark law school for 20 years, and to carry on his commitment to civil liberties, equal rights, and social justice.
The Neisser program serves to promote a culture of public service within the law school community, increase and enhance opportunities for students to learn about and experience public interest work, and support and assist students interested in developing careers in public service. First, the program gives students the opportunity to gain experience in the field of public interest and public service through pro bono activities, internships, fellowships, summer placements, full-time employment after graduation, and loan repayment assistance. Further, it provides programming about the public interest and support to a variety of student organizations, which enable students to become educated about public interest issues, to interact with local communities, and to seek redress for individuals and communities on a variety of issues.
Noncurricular public interest activities include:
1. pro bono placements, both within the law school and with outside legal organizations. The law school has several in-house pro bono programs, including:
-
the Domestic Violence Advocacy Project (DVAP) -- an opportunity for law
student volunteers to assist victims of domestic violence with
information and assistance through the process of obtaining temporary
and final restraining orders
- the Street Law
Program -- loosely modeled on the national Street Law, Inc. program,
this project gives law students the opportunity to teach a civil rights
and law-related education class in public schools in Newark and
neighboring communities
2. fellowship opportunities, including the Kinoy-Stavis Fellowship and the Marsha Wenk Fellowship;
3. paid public interest/service-oriented summer internship opportunities through the Public Interest Law Foundation;
4. loan repayment assistance after law school through the Loan Repayment
Assistance Program (LRAP) for those who take
underfunded public interest legal jobs; and
5. educational
activities such as the First Monday Symposium, the Eric R. Neisser
Public Interest Program speaker series providing conversations with
public interest lawyers, and participation in conferences, and job
fairs.
In addition, students at Rutgers can
participate in a variety of legal clinics for credit, which gives them
the opportunity to work on real cases under the supervision of clinical
law professors. These cases expose students to the legal issues facing
the poor and underrepresented, and give them the opportunity to develop
legal skills, such as interviewing, counseling, negotiation, legal
writing, and trial skills.
